From the Garden by Maison Martin Margiela 2023
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From the Garden by Maison Martin Margiela 2023

Hi there ULGers, Maison Margiela is one of those fragrance houses that has kind of passed me by. There’s always a LOT of chatter about them on the boards, I’ve smelt a few of them, sometimes when I ask in the wild a very excited perfumista will tell me all about the provenance of their scent and Maison Martin Margiela’s Replica Collection. Basically an up market, niche version of the Demeter range with MUCH better longevity and interesting twists. It surprised me when looking up the brand that they’ve been around since 2010. So, while trawling Surrender To Chance NEW section not so long ago I noted that they had a brand new scent, being sold as a chypre and with such an alluring title as From The Garden. It was in the cart before I could even think it through.

From the Garden by Maison Martin Margiela

From the Garden by Maison Martin Margiela

Maison Margiela site gives these featured accords:
Top: Green Mandarin Essence – Grapefruit Essence – Blackcurrant Accord
Heart: Tomato Leaf Accord – Geranium Bourbon Heart Madagascar – Rose Accord
Base: Patchouli Indonesia – Cristal Moss – White Musks

Well they’re not lying about the fruity top. It’s got that unmistakeable perfume version of blackcurrant and a bright, screechy grapefruit that is both super sweet and tart AF. It’s a surprisingly gorgeous opening and I wish it lasted in that mode longer than the minute before tomato leaf makes a bold entrance, pushing all other notes into the background.  There they become a really good pillow to rest the tomato leaf on.

From the Garden by Maison Martin Margiela 2023

About an hour in the tomato leaf has decreased its power and is starting to let the geranium and patchouli add their respective charms.Loving the sharp geranium leaf that is almost photo realistic of rubbing a leaf between your fingers and then smelling the feisty waft. I’m sure the rose is mixed up in there but it’s not making a statement.

From the Garden by Maison Martin Margiela 2023

The dry down is a very calm dank earthy patchouli. Cristal moss is a synthetic moss recreation note and it does a very nice job here of adding a little furry greenery to the patchouli. It’s probably just me but in the base I smell basil leaves, just crushed for making pesto. It adds another dimension as we head towards fade.

From the Garden is a beautiful green chypre. A little darker than the 1970s version and though I hate to say it, more interesting. Maybe it’s the newness of the mixture and the front and centre of tomato leaf. Projection and longevity are moderate but the village is excellent. It really does change the air as you walk past.

Sound good?
Portia xx

 

 

 

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Saturday Question: How Much Would You Pay For Your Favorite Perfume?

Discussing perfume prices, we periodically say something like “It is nice, but not enough to pay that price” or “I wouldn’t pay that much for what it is.” This usually describes our reaction to new for us perfumes that we just smelled or tried. And it is easier to dismiss a new scent that you have no emotional connection with yet. But let’s consider a hypothetical (once again – hypothetical!) situation: one of your top favorites was stolen from your collection. Would you want to get it back?

Saturday Question on Undina's Looking Glass

Saturday Question #205:

How Much Would You Pay For Your Favorite Perfume?

Would you pay its today’s official full price? How about more? What if it is not available for the official price? You know this perfume, it proved over the years that it works for you, and you love it (I’m sure you have at least one or two such perfumes in your collection – so, think of one of them). Provided that you’re guaranteed the authenticity and freshness, what is the absolute maximum you would be willing to pay to get it back even if it means not buying any other perfumes and having to save money for a year or two (or more) to do it? After which price you’d give up and decide that it’s not meant to be?

Don’t “cheat” thinking and telling us that you’d pay any price. But don’t disregard it completely either just because now you have a bottle and a back-up of it and don’t think you’ll ran out any time soon. Ask yourself how much that “one of the top N” perfumes is actually worth to you if you don’t have another choice.

My Answer

My quick scanning of my collection gave me an idea that even though I haven’t paid the full price for most of them, I would have paid a full retail price ($350 or less) for approximately 50 perfumes in my collection (I don’t mean for all of them but rather for any one of them). I wouldn’t want to replace them with anything newer, so if I had a budget, I would have funneled it first towards repurchasing one of these 50.

But if to talk about my absolute favorites – let’s say, one of the top 3 (Lancome Climat, Ormonde Jayne Ta’if and Amouage Ubar, two of which are sadly discontinued now), – I estimate that I might consider paying up to $1K for one of them if I knew they were genuine. I wouldn’t have done it lightly (it’s a lot of money!), but I would be willing to save my perfume budget for as long as it’s necessary to repurchase one of these three. Of course, all of these exercises assume that my regular bills are paid, I’m not starving, and the regular necessities are taken care of. So, one thousand doesn’t feel like something completely out of question. Would I pay more? I don’t know. On one hand, it seems crazy to spend that much on perfume. But then… If I really think that they are that great and love them, aren’t they worth twice as much? Three times? I really hope never to test my hypothesis.

 

How about you?

How Much Would You Pay For Your Favorite Perfume?

Petrichor by Marissa Zappas
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Petrichor by Marissa Zappas

Hi there crew, From MetroOffice: Petrichor is the smell of rain. The word comes from the Greek words ‘petra’, meaning stone, and ‘ichor’, which in Greek mythology refers to the golden fluid that flows in the veins of the immortals. The phrase was coined by two researchers at the Australian CSIRO science agency in a 1964 article for the journal Nature. I do love it when the Aussies get stuff done right. As an aside, the CSIRO plant was in the next suburb to where I grew up and as we would drive past there were always strange and wonderful scents emanating. Sadly the area got sold off and is now an up market apartment building estate.

Petrichor by Marissa Zappas 2022

Marissa Zappas site gives these featured accords:
Top: Damp earth, lemon
Heart: Immortelle, orris, vetiver
Base: Ambergris, sandalwood, moss, musk

Marissa Zappas is a new name to me. I bought this decant from Surrender To Chance because I love the word Petrichor. This lids of the bottles look a little like those Stéphane Humbert Lucas 777 lids in pictures. I’d love to know how similar they are in life if any of you has had a hold?

How does Petrichor smell? The opening is sharp citrus and earthy iris root. Is it like that unbelievably glorious scent after the first few drops of rain? Not really but it does capture the feeling I get when I smell it. Does that make sense? Here, even in the city when the rain first hits we get this hint of eucalyptus to go with the concrete moisture. It’s cool and mentholated sweetness adds a bright and sparkling tint.

In Marissa Zappas homage to Petrichor it is as if we are experiencing it from inside the apartment. We are warm and rugged up. Looking outside we notice the rain just starting and open a window. Sure, there is the smell of newly wet concrete but also the scent of comfortable living. It’s a beautiful perfume picture and I am enjoying it immensely.

Ask we head towards dry down the damp earth, shady bench seat at the park, and flick of umbrellas is sitting perfectly beside the luxurious creamy warmth of the sandalwood and slightly furry yellow/white treacle like floral of immortelle. BEAUTIFUL!

I’m smitten and Petrichor has just hit the Top 5 on my To Buy List. As soon as I have a few extra $$. GAH! Just looked and it’s currently SOLD OUT! Damnit. Let’s hope it comes back.

Sound good to you?
Portia xx

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Saturday Question: Do You Write Reviews?

I understand that those of my readers who have blogs post perfume reviews, this is given. I’m not talking about posts or comments on blogs, Instagram, Twitter or Facebook. The question is about designated review spots where your feedback will stay with the product/service and will be visible to others.

Saturday Question on Undina's Looking Glass

Saturday Question #204:

Do You Write Reviews?

The main question, of course, is about perfume reviews. Do you write them on one of the large perfume sites? How about online perfume stores? Perfume decanter sites/services?

And a wider, general question is whether you leave any reviews, for any products, services or experience.

My Answer

As most of you probably noticed by now, I rarely publish anything remotely resembling perfume reviews even on my perfume blog, so I don’t remember even once being tempted to write a perfume review anywhere else. For me, perfume reviews are useful if I know (I mean, virtually) a person whose opinion I’m reading because that allows me to “calibrate” expectations based on what I know about the reviewer’s tastes. Reading Fragrantica reviews from time to time, I’m amazed at how different people’s perceptions of the same perfume might be and how categorical some of them sound, even when their opinion completely contradicts everybody else’s. I wouldn’t dare. Not with my nose.

As to the other types of reviews, for many years the only place where I was almost religiously leaving feedback was eBay: since I myself rely a lot on the sellers’ reputation, I thought it was my duty to contribute to those ratings. But my feedback is usually done for the “service” (how well the seller described the item, how quickly it was delivered, etc.) and not for the product itself.

On several occasions, I left a review for a restaurant (because I was annoyed; they were mostly negative) and for an Airbnb/VRBO rental (those were mostly positive – but only because I was lucky with my choices, thanks to reading other people’s reviews!).

Other than that, I rarely write any product reviews: Who cares whether I liked (for example) that iron or blanket? – I was thinking. But over the years, I started feeling almost guilty about it: I noticed that I heavily rely not even on the ratings people leave for different products but for additional information and sometimes personal photos of those products – be that on Amazon, Sephora or other sites that sell products I am not familiar with or can’t try at a store. So, I’m thinking that I should start contributing more actively – to warn others about products that I find subpar or to offset ratings from idiots who complain about items being not of the size they expected – even though measurements were clearly stated in the description.

Rusty Fragile

How about you?

Do You Write Reviews?

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Saturday Question: Do You “Collect” Anything (Besides Perfume)?

I think we all understand that while talking about our perfumes, the use of the word “collection” is somewhat a stretch: it is a collection in terms of being an assembly of items of the same type, probably even systematically arranged. But since the objects of the collection, perfumes, are being used (no matter how infrequently) and also can spoil, the “collection” part is a figure of speech rather than a literally meaning. Today’s question should be considered in this context.

Saturday Question on Undina's Looking Glass

Saturday Question #203:

Do You “Collect” Anything (Besides Perfume)?

As it is hopefully clear from the introduction, the question is not about collecting art, baseball cards or vintage Hermes scarves. A “fair game” would be something that is/can be used up, which you’re buying in excess of regular use/consumption. Food, drinks, bath and body products, socks, ties, pens, paperclips, umbrellas, etc., etc. – I hope you got the idea.

If you have photos of your collections somewhere online and can share, please do.

My Answer

I LOVE lipsticks. It has been a while since I posted about them, but for a non-beauty-centric blog, the number of posts on the topic of lipsticks is quite telling: Lipstick Extravaganza, Lipstick Queen’s Mixed Metaphor, Sunday Self-care, Episode 6: Read My Lip… Care Choices, The (Last?) Two Queens, (Pillow) Talking myself into buying perfume, They had me at “Hello” – and now “Goodbye”, Frog Prince(ss)’s Kiss, Black Lace in Tropics, and more, but I’ll stop here.

A couple of years ago, I decided to sort all lipsticks I had at that time by color, take pictures of them and swatches, and have those photos with me every time I think of buying another one while at a counter. These are pictures of almost complete “collection” of my lipsticks back then.

I use lipsticks, lip balms, lip veils and other lip products daily. So, since these pictures were taken, I used up some of the lipsticks I had. Lock-down and not shopping as often somewhat helped to slow down my acquisitions, but still, I bought more than I finished (I think – I’m afraid to count).

 

Do You “Collect” Anything (Besides Perfume)?

Southern Bloom: Sweating It Out Down Under
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Southern Bloom: Sweating It Out Down Under

Hi there ULG crew, While most of our readers are from the Northern Hemisphere and feeling the cold, down under I am sweltering in one of the weirdest weather summers I can remember. It’s either blazing hot and humid or raining, cooler and humid. We are normally (till the last couple of years) practically a desert here in Sydney. We get a few really big thunder storms that drop oodles of water in a relatively short time and then blue skies. Out here in Parramatta, about 25km from the city, it usually doesn’t get ridiculously muggy very often. 2023/4 summer is like living in a tropical monsoon area. Without the daily afternoon downpour. I’m not complaining, just letting you know how unorthodox this year is. OK, maybe I am complaining, coz.

Southern Bloom by Goldfield and Banks 2018

Southern Bloom Goldfield & Banks Australia

Goldfield & Banks gives these featured accords:
Boronia Absolute Tasmania, Jasmine Sambac India, Cassis France, Sandalwood Australia, Vetiver Indonesia, Ylang Ylang Madagascar, Coconut Accord, Iris Italy

Australians are incredibly proud of Goldfield and Banks. They are an Indie House gone global. It was a thrill for me to see them in such diverse cities on our recent trip as Vienna, Paris, London, Budapest and Seoul. I can’t think of a perfume brand of ours that has ever had such distribution, especially with such a niche feeling product. Maybe Grandiflora is getting close? Tommi Sonia gave it a red hot go, if they had stayed the distance I reckon they’d be global by now too.

Anyway, I’ve been wearing Southern Bloom a bit in this strange weather. I want to say it’s a white floral but that is so much less than the whole experience. Straight up there is a lightly sweet, clear eucalyptus green. I’m thinking it’s the boronia and cassis but doesn’t really smell like either of them. This top stays but is overshadowed by the white floral dripping with tropical ylang and sandalwood. This heart is eye lollingly gorgeous and hums away merrily for a long time. It’s both warm and cool, sultry and exactly the fetishized dream of carefree tropical holiday nights.

Southern Bloom by Goldfield and Banks 2018

The heart also has a boozy component and makes me think of those creamy cocktails that sometimes come in a pineapple or big glasses with fruity embellishments.

The base is very sandalwood heavy and I’m surprised there’s no vanilla noted, it’s a luscious creamy confection.

While anyone can and should try Southern Bloom it does lean towards modern traditional femme. The first hour or so is very fragrant and its lasting power is impressive. It fits most seasons but this super weird summer it is working perfectly for me.

Sound good?
Portia xx

 

 

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Saturday Question: Do You Have a Red Perfume Bottle in Your Collection?

Happy Lunar New Year! Sending happiness your way in the Year of the Dragon.

Saturday Question on Undina's Looking Glass

Saturday Question #203:

Do You Have a Red Perfume Bottle in Your Collection?

I realize that it’s a superficial connection between the celebration and our perfume hobby, but since most of these SQs aren’t serious anyway, I decided “why not?”

My Answer

My first thought was, “No, I don’t think I have any.” I remembered that for my blog’s “rainbow anniversary” (7 years) I managed to find a red-colored perfume. And I used to have a deep red bottle of the eponymous perfume (probably, it’s the other way around, but you got what I meant), but the current bottle that I have is silver. And that was it. And then I remembered: Puredistance Rubikona! (Just in case you want my take on this perfume, a couple of year ago I published Puredistance Rubikona: Iacta alea esto!)

Puredistance Rubikona

How about you?

Do You Have a Red Perfume Bottle in Your Collection?

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Saturday Question: Did You Ever Have A Signature Scent?

Theoretically, it is possible that one of the visitors who is reading this post is currently a “signature scent person” who got to this blog by searching for similar-minded people. But it’s not probable. So, I assume that none of us is currently monogamous perfume-wise. But what about the past?

Saturday Question on Undina's Looking Glass

Saturday Question #201:

Did You Ever Have A Signature Scent?

If yes, what was it? How long did it last? If no, did you ever consider getting one? Do you know anybody who wears just one perfume (all the time or at least serially)?

My Answer

Since this is my blog, I have previously touched this subject once or twice (or ten times?). So, I hope that those two readers who a) read it in the past and b) remember about it would forgive me repeating myself.

When I was growing up, having any perfume – leave alone a good one (read “French”) – was if not a true luxury then definitely something excessive and indulgent. From what I remember, even adult women who owned perfumes didn’t wear them daily saving them for special occasions. It was slightly different for men since they used colognes and balms after shaving, but that was considered as a functional application rather than “decorative” (and those colognes weren’t either too interesting or tenacious).

So, while owning just one perfume at a time was something common, that was rather out of necessity than a conscious choice. But since perfumes were rare and hard to come by, those women who did wear perfumes would usually use the one they managed to procure or were given as a gift. Thus, having a “signature scent” was mostly a romanticized but unobtainable idea.

Lancôme Climat became first my imaginary (while I didn’t have it but used my Grandma’s bottle once in a while) and then actual (once my Grandma bought it for me as a gift) signature scent. I did wear some random scented products from time to time – not because I wanted a variety, but because Climat was cherished and designated to the most special occasions. But I remember back then being convinced that I would wear only that perfume if I could afford it. And I was genuinely perplexed by the fact that not absolutely everybody was in love with that scent: it was the most amazing perfume ever!

By mid-twenties, I outgrew that “one and only perfume” idea (admittedly, with some help). And today I can’t imagine wearing not just one but probably even 10 perfumes over and over again. But if I were to fantasize about perfume I would want people to associate with me (that was one of the premises behind the signature scent concept I grew up with), Climat still would be one of the top 3 contenders (together with Ormonde Jayne Ta’if and Amouage Ubar).

Rusty and Climat Bottle

Rusty with my very first bottle of Climat from 80s

How about you?

Did You Ever Have A Signature Scent?

Knize Sec
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Knize Sec

Hey there ULGers, On our recent European journey our last stop was Vienna. Ostensibly to catch up with Birgit from Olfactoria’s Travels and Val the Cookie Queen from APJ. Sadly Birgit and family got the dreaded C19 so that was out but Val, her daughter Hannah, Jin and I spent a wonderful day and night wandering, eating, shopping and catching up. It was heaven. All the Christmas Markets and lights were out, it was lightly snowing and we basked in the joy of just being together. Vienna has been my favourite city since the 1990s and it was so fabulous to be back. We even stayed in my most loved Vienna hotel, the Royal. HEAVEN! Here’s the pic with us in front of Cafe Mozart, the place we first met face to face in 2013! So much has changed. Our love? Nope, fire’s burning bright.

Knize Cec Portia Val Hannah jin Vienna 2023

Jin and I also went into Knize (Ker Neez Ya). The main reason was to buy a couple of Thank You and We Love You gifts. We grabbed the Gold Edition of Knize Ten for leather lover Anna Maria and Knize Forest for Scotty who never met a deep green he didn’t love. While there  I grabbed a bottle of Knize Sec. Long on the To Buy List and changed some since I first fell in love with it, still it gave me a shiver of thrill and purchase was made.

Knize Sec 1985

Knize Sec Jan 2024

Knize gives these featured accords:
Top: Citrus fruits, orange, amalfi lemon, coriander
Heart: Lavender, jasmine, sage, bitter orange
Base: Leather, incense, amber, musk

Straight out of the gate I get a slightly screechy aldehydic soapy citrus with herbal greenery. A sparkling masculine aromatic, still soapy and lightly sweaty, comes through. Refreshing! Now that I’ve worn it a few times I’m noticing it smells like Paco by Paco Rabanne. Not quite as metallic but definitely in a similar olfactory ballpark.

As we move into the heart I notice the white floral aspect. It’s not very jasmine off the tree though. Much more perfumery and working in beautifully with the lavender.

My memory of Sec in the past was that it ended up with a mossy leather amber base, a little like Van Cleef & Arpels Pour Homme. It’s much less sophisticated and deep now. Actually, it smells a little of pine and juniper.

It’s funny, until I sat down to really parse and write about Sec I was thinking that it’s a heady aldehydic aromatic with a light base. It’s kind of that but I also think that Knize has cheapened the mix and that Sec really hasn’t recovered properly after being made to fit current guidelines. It’s still wearable but not what I remember.

Looking for something new for a guy who wants to smell nice all day in a traditional way? He probably only has one or two fragrances going at any time and scent is not really an important part of his regime. He knows that the spritz is expected though and does it dutifully. He will smell nice to leave the house and then softly masculine all day.

Portia x

 

 

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Saturday Questions… for Undina on the Blog’s 13th Anniversary

Since earlier this week Undina’s Looking Glass turned 13, I decided to do something different for this Saturday Question post.

Below is a 13-question self-interview, after which I invite you to answer in comments any of the questions that you feel are relevant to you (some of them are just for me, but others could be valid for my readers), ask me any questions if you happen to have them, or just join me in celebrating my blog’s 13th Anniversary.

Saturday Question 13th Anniversary Edition

1. When you started this blog, did you expect to be writing this post?

I don’t remember specifically thinking about my plans, but I know that back then I wouldn’t have been surprised had anybody told me I’d keep this space alive for the next 15 years and beyond.

2. Do you have any regrets about the current state of the blog?

I do. I don’t have the time and energy to publish stories regularly. The “Saturday Question” series is the only commitment I’m trying not to break. I realize that my readers are doing just fine without additional posts. But I wish my life would return to the state where I could do it at least once a month – especially since I have what to write about.

3. How did your “no-buy” go last year?

Surprisingly, it went well. For the first 6 months of 2023, I spent on perfume $5: I bought a sample of Parfumes Quartana’s Ierofante. In the second half of the year, I bought one full bottle and several samples from my visit to the ZGO Perfumery and Le Labo boutique in September – that’s it.

Perfume Samples

4. What was the last perfume you bought?

Tauerville’s When We Cuddle And I Can Smell Your Perfume On My Clothes. After it came up as “My Answer” in two different Saturday Question posts (Do You Like Skin Scents? and What Is Your Most Calming Perfume?), and I complained in both how I missed getting it when it was available, I just had to pounce once it was re-released as another limited edition (even though it was almost twice more expensive than the first release).

Rusty And Tauerville When We Cuddle And I Can Smell Your Perfume On My Clothes

5. Why are there fewer photos of Rusty on the blog?

While I publish fewer new perfume-related posts in general, which creates fewer opportunities for me to showcase Rusty, sadly, it’s not the only reason. Recently, Rusty was not feeling well. I will not go into details (it’s too depressing for a celebratory post) but just say that we are actively fighting for each extra month we can have him around. With his age and illness, Rusty has become much less energetic or curious, so it is much harder to interest him in what I am doing with a bottle of perfume or prompt him to jump to the sideboard or table where I am doing that. But he still has good days, and I try to snatch as many pictures of him as possible. And since most of them do not feature perfumes, I post them daily on my Instagram.

Rusty On My Lap

6. How large is your perfume collection?

For years, I didn’t feel right divulging the number of bottles I had. I’m not sure why: I don’t think it’s excessive for my hobby, it’s not the largest collection I know of, and I like most of the perfumes that I bought myself. To tell you the truth, I didn’t know the exact number of full bottles in my collection: counting full bottles didn’t make much sense since I have probably twice as many travel bottles and decants that I bought or swapped to wear.

But for this post, I decided to dig up some data from my database. So, not even touching other sizes, I have 123 full-sized (30ml +) bottles of perfumes that I still like and wear and 14 bottles that I liked and bought at some point but am not sure now if I still want to wear them. I still might. Another 14 are almost empty bottles from my pre-perfumista times that I do not use but keep tucked away for sentimental value. The last 13 bottles were gifted to me or came as a part of the set I bought for just one of the items. I wouldn’t have bought them myself (or for themselves, in case of sets), but some of them are lovely, and I use them because they were a gift. So, not counting “old flames,” my collection holds 150 full [at some point in the past] bottles.

7. Do you plan to downsize?

As of now, I’m not sure I have anything I’m ready to part with. But, in general, I think I should. Setting aside the issue of not having enough shelf space to hold any more perfumes, I really didn’t like the feeling of choice paralysis I experienced last year. Using a self-made perfume Advent Calendar helped in December, so I reused that approach again in January. It works! Now I plan to keep doing it this year, and in the end, I will know better which perfumes I don’t choose to wear even when I have time to think about the set for the whole month ahead.

8. What were the first perfumes in your perfume database?

Without looking into the underlying data, I would have never remembered or guessed what perfume I started it with. I can’t even remember when it happened. My best guess would be at least 15 years ago, but it might be earlier. So, this is the list of the first 13 perfumes in my database (chronologically in the order they were added):

Givenchy Amarige
I had a mini bottle. I didn’t love it, but it was fine for variety. I think I finished it (at least, I don’t have it any longer).

Lancome Miracle
I had a bottle. I almost finished it, and I have a mini of this perfume, but I haven’t worn it in 14 years since I started recording my daily use.

Estee Lauder Dazzling Gold
I had several samples that I used up, but I never went for a bottle of it.

Givenchy Extravagance d’Amarige
I had a mini bottle. I think I finished it.

Annick Goutal Petite Cherie
I went through at least 2 bottles of this perfume. I still have a bottle and still like it.

Dolce & Gabbana Light Blue
I had a sample. I don’t think I’ve ever finished it.

DKNY DKNY Woman
I still have the remaining 10% in my second bottle. After a 12+ year hiatus, I wore it again a couple of years ago and still found it pleasant.

Hugo Boss Deep Red
I finished a couple of bottles, have a bottle gifted to me by Vanessa (Bonkers About Perfume) and still like and wear it periodically.

YSL Baby Doll
I loved this perfume and went through almost two bottles. Unfortunately, the second one turned on me before I could finish it, and the reformulated version available at the time wasn’t as wonderful as I thought the original one was.

Guerlain Champs Elysees
That was my first bottle, pre-”bug spray” comment from my co-worker. Since then I acquired another bottle, but I haven’t worn it in almost 8 years. Probably I should check if my bottle is still good.

Estee Lauder Pleasures Intense
I think I had a sample… It says a lot about how I felt/feel about it.

Calvin Klein Eternity Rose Blush
I somehow got this sample, tried and didn’t like it.

Issey Miyake Le Feu Light
I liked it and went through a small bottle. By the time my bottle was almost done (I think I still have it somewhere with a couple of drops in it), this perfume was discontinued.

9. Can you estimate how many perfumes you tried over the years?

It’s hard to think of a realistic number: between 1993 (when perfumes became more easily available where I lived then) and 2010 (when I started my database), I was sniffing and testing one way or the other all mass-market perfumes I could get to in department stores, Duty-Free shops and catalogs (mostly, Yves Rocher, but probably some Avon as well). My estimate would be 350-400 perfumes. As of today, I have 2,113 perfumes in my database. These are perfumes that touched my skin at least once. Additionally, over the years I think I tried on the skin (at stores) but didn’t record another 100 and gave a nozzle sniff or a paper strip test to another 1,000 perfumes.

This brings me to the total estimate of approximately 3,200 perfumes that I at least smelled during my life.

10. What are your Top 13 Perfumes?

As for most of us, this type of list changes often, but as of today, these are my favorites (in alphabetical order to avoid ranking):

Amouage Dia
Amouage Ubar
Chanel №19 EDT
Giorgio Armani La Femme Bleue
Guerlain Cruel Gardénia
Jo Malone Sweet Milk
J-Scent Yuzu
Krigler Lieber Gustav 14
Lancome Climat
Les Parfums de Rosine Rose d’Amour
Ormonde Jayne Ta’if
Teo Cabanel Alahine
Tom Ford Fleur de Chine

11. Does your vSO (very significant other) read your posts?

Nope. He subscribed to updates, but I don’t think he makes it to any of the posts more often than once a year. But he’s very supportive of my hobby: he never once complained about the size of my collection; he patiently tolerates my sniffing rounds both domestically and when we travel (and even provides his skin for testing more masculine offerings); and he listens to all the stories about perfumes, perfumers, bloggers and anything else I throw at him. And he allows me to spray him with perfume of my choice (from his collection) 9 out of 10 times I ask.

12. What are your favorite stories over the years?

I thought it would be quite appropriate to name 13 stories from the previous years. Some of them saw a lot of attention from my readers at the time. Others went under the radar. But each of them was special for me for one reason or another.

First, a bunch of posts with the strongest emotional connection between my past and perfumes:

First Love: Perfume
The very first post on this blog about my all-time perfume love.

First Love: Love
Perfume connected to my first childhood romantic relationship.

“Here’s a photo I’ve been looking for…”: Sweet Milk by Jo Malone
Childhood memories – sweet and bitter-sweet – that preconditioned my love to this perfume.

Angel of Jealousy
I’ve never felt like that about any other perfume.

A Fairy Tale Ending, Perfumista-style
A heartwarming story of perfumistas kindness and support at one of the hardest times in my life.

A couple of lighter posts:

“Oh, TOES!! (for some people)” or Where to Apply Perfumes
I still smile every time I see that title (or remember the scene it referenced).

Tu-ti-tu-rum-tu-tu or Musical Perfume
A concoction of anecdotal stories, music, jokes and a cute cat picture.

lebaB fo rewoT or Found in Translation
Joys of multilingual experiences and strange perfume names (actual or perceived).

In the Search for the Perfect Lavender
Lavender and Terminator-2: in this post, I managed to build a connection between these two.

Déjà vu, Episode 3: powdery fruit vs. peony oriental vs. sandalwood jasmine
For a while, I was obsessed with several well-known perfumes smelling very similar.

Posts with “literary whiff”:

My First Perfume Review: Puredistance Antonia
My scheherazade-esque frame story about this perfume.

Everything Is Relative
I think it’s my only fiction story on this blog.

The Royal Nonesuch of Perfume
One of my most negative posts about perfume.

I’m also somewhat proud of movie-posters’-based illustrations I made for my posts (though, I wasn’t sure at the time whether anybody else had made that connection):

In a separate category, not counted towards perfume-related favorite posts, are all the stories about Rusty and everything that led to him appearing in my life.

13. What are your plans for this blog?

I plan to keep going as long as it brings me joy, I can find what to write about and have at least a few people to communicate with in comments.